Shades Of Red
by AmeliaNoire
Summary: Full introduction is up now, chapters are coming soon! Follow and Favourite now to keep up with updates as the story progresses. Currently in the works. [Ginger /Orion]


A short timeline for As Told By Ginger.

Episodes 47&48 of the show, titled Butterflies Are Free, set up the transition in the series for Ginger. It took her and her friends from Lucky Junior High to Lucky High School.

There were a total of ten episodes of the show following this transition, counting The Wedding Frame as one full episode.

Based on the events of the episodes leading up to the finale, we can assume that the actual wedding took place sometime after Thanksgiving (Note to the episode Ten Chairs), but before Ginger finished her Freshman year.

Depending on when their birthdays are, Ginger and her friends would have all been around 14 or 15 (as Freshman in high school), and Carl and his friends would have been 11 or 12 (as 6th graders).

Even though the school names are Lucky Junior High and Lucky High School, the school system in the series is set-up on a middle school (students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades) and high school (students in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades) basis. This conclusion was gathered based on information gathered through out the entire series and was used to determine the ages of the characters.

My fan-fiction series will take place after The Wedding Frame and will use the above information as a foundation and guide, keeping everything realistic and relevant for the characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own As Told By Ginger, any of the original characters, or any of the story-lines that were used in the show. The show belongs to Nickelodeon. I only own my original characters and story-lines, which were still inspired by the original series. My work, characters, stories, and themes may NOT be re-used or re-written without direct consent from me. Thank you.

Prequel/ Teaser

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Orion took Ginger's right hand in his own as he looked her straight in the eyes. Using his other hand, he brushed a stray lock of crimson hair from her fair-toned face. "You trust me, completely, right?"

...

... ... ...

Several Months Earlier ...

Ginger Foutley was just a small town high school student whom was struggling with the normal dilemmas of her everyday teenage life. She was growing apart from her former best friends, she was fighting herself daily when it came to moving on from her ex-boyfriend, everything was changing, quickly, and Ginger suddenly found herself completely overwhelmed and weighed down by life. Cue Orion, Ginger's casual crush and band mate. Orion cared deeply for Ginger, in ways that Ginger could never imagine to be possible. He wanted the best for her, he wanted to see her smile again, but most of all, he wanted her to be his, completely.

Coming soon to a fan-fiction site near you: Shades Of Red: A Ginger Foutley Story.

This work of fiction is rated M for Mature. Reader discretion is highly advised.

"Ginge, Ginge, ... Ginger!"

The lights dimmed inside of Ginger's mind. She could hear the familiar voices of her family and friends calling to her, but she was mentally out of reach. It was like she was watching her life flicker by as a bystander from a distance.

The music stopped. The voices stopped. The lights had faded completely into darkness. But the knots in her stomach yet remained. Ginger opened her eyes, blinking slowly as her vision re-adjusted.

"Where am I? Oh my god the wedding." Ginger jerked and sat straight up in bed. She felt a slight twinge in her left arm and looked down, realizing she was now in the hospital, and there was an IV piercing her vein. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy kiddo, slowly, and don't worry about the wedding right now. You took quite the spill at the ceremony, how are you feeling?" Ginger's mother spoke to her. Her voice calm and steady; but on the inside she had been riddled with fear and worry and was just deeply relieved that Ginger was conscious again.

"Why am I in the hospital? What happened?" She slumped back down against the pillows with a groan as she looked at her mom, noticing that she was no longer in her wedding dress but instead had changed into something more comfortable in appearance. "You had a massive anxiety attack and your heart rate shot up and then dropped so quickly that you completely blacked out. You should be alright now, but Dave insisted we bring you here for the night, just to be safe, and I much agreed. And before you even open your mouth to protest, don't. You're body is under enough stress right now as it is. You just get some rest.

Ginger wanted to argue, but she didn't. She went from scared, to stressed out, to upset, and now she was just tired. She'd been tired for a while. Not just from the accident, but from her recent life events in general. So much was happening so quickly and she could barely keep up. At this point, she wasn't even sure that she wanted to keep up. As soon as her mother left the room Ginger jerked the IV tube out of her arm, relishing in the sudden sting that it made when the needle flew out. After it was out, she picked up the tiny instrument which was still attached to the tubing. Her eyes glazed over and then fell shut as she drug the needle along the length of her arm aimlessly. Her breathing went shallow and then calmed completely. There was pain, but this pain was welcomed, the sharp, sudden stings and prickling sensations swept over her entire being. The warmth grew within her veins as she plunged the unforgiving steel gently in and out of her arm. Yeah, she could get used to that kind of pain, and if she had any say in it, she most certainly would.

Fast Forward: To the first few weeks of the following school year. Ginger and her friends were now Sophomores, Orion was a Senior, and Carl and his peers were venturing into the seventh grade.

The remainder of Ginger's Freshman semester and summer went about as she'd expected it to: far too quickly, yet in ways, time couldn't move fast enough. She recovered from her accident at the wedding, Lois and Dave finally tied the knot, her family got settled in to their new home in Protected Pines, and Carl was beginning to mature.. which was more than slightly terrifying.

Everything had gone basically back to normal, other than the fact that Ginger had barely spoken to her friends all summer. Her days were spent with her locked in her room, mostly writing, day dreaming, and a bit of indulging in her new found vises.

During all of the stress that came along with wedding planning, Ginger discovered a new outlet: pain. If her physical being was aching, then her head would be quiet, at least for a little while. And for those few sound moments of silence, anything was worth it in Ginger's mind.

"Yo... Earth to Ginger." Orion waved his hand in front of Ginger's face. She was day dreaming, again. "Oh, sorry Orion, guess I didn't get enough sleep or something." Ginger's cheeks pinked slightly, knowing the real truth behind her wandering mind. "Usually splitting an order of fries requires both people to eat the fries.. and you've barely touched them. Actually, you haven't eaten a single one, and you've hardly said anything either, what gives?" Ginger bit her lip nervously as she tried to calm herself, her right hand was aimlessly stroking her left arm, which had been the most recent target of her new found affliction. "I'm fine Orion, just a little groggy, okay?"

Orion knew better, but he didn't want to push, yet. "Alright, if you say so, Ginger."

Seconds later, Darren and the rest of the football team walked by, followed by a squad of babbling cheerleaders and adoring fans, including Dodie, whom Ginger wasn't so close to anymore. After the wedding, Ginger and Darren had gotten into another argument and Dodie started hanging around Simone and the rest of the pep-squad girls even more often than before. Ginger had wanted to say that it was a shock that one of her long time best friends had gone astray so easily, but when she really thought about it, it wasn't a shock at all.

Ginger sneered as the last of the giggling girls passed by. "I swear, if I EVER act like that, just leave and pretend you don't know me, because if that happens, it means I've seriously gone insane." They both laughed and Orion found himself relieved, Ginger was actually smiling, and if she was happy, then he was happy. But that laughter soon faded, Orion casually brushed his hand along Ginger's damaged arm and she jerked back without even thinking.

"Ouch." Orion looked up, a bit puzzled. "Ouch? Are you okay Ginger?" Fuck. Ginger had to think fast. "Oh yeah I'm okay, you just shocked me is all. Heh." Orion's puzzled looked didn't fade. "I didn't shock you, I'd have felt it too if I did.. what's wrong Ginger, seriously, and why are you trying to hide it?" Ginger bit her lip again and contemplated on what to do. She hadn't told anyone about her little secret.

She took a deep breath in and held it for a moment before exhaling slowly."Promise me that you won't freak out, be mad, or tell anyone... and I mean ANYONE. No one knows, Orion. Promise?" Orion was now worried but he knew he had to find out, he had to make sure that Ginger was alright. "I promise, Ginger, now tell me."

Ginger pulled up her sleeve, revealing trails of small bruises and burn marks, she then went on to explain how she discovered her liking of pain and why she did it.

"So... you think I'm a total freak now, huh?" Ginger asked nervously, waiting on Orion to say something, anything. He sat silently, trying to compose his thoughts and words. He took Ginger's hand and locked eyes with hers. "Ginger, you aren't a freak, I promise.. We all have secrets, we all have our vises, and I'm glad that you chose to share yours with me." His tone was some-how different, calm, reassuring, and in control. Ginger blushed softly, ducking her head, attempting to hide behind her wavy, crimson locks. "No, no hiding from me, Ginger, I can still see you, and believe it or not, I understand. But I have to say.. there are better ways to handle those sort of desires and if you'll allow me, I'd be more than glad to share them with you."

Ginger looked up. "Please don't tell me you're talking about religion, or sex, or anything else crazy like that..." Orion laughed. "Oh yeah, figured it was the perfect time to try and convert you to a religion that I don't even believe in, right. I'll be honest, sex can relieve tension and calm the nerves, but no, that's not what I'm talking about. It's hard to explain and you probably wouldn't believe me if I tried to, so just let me show you, okay? After school at your place?"

Ginger paused for a moment, taking in everything that was being said, plans were being made, her mind was racing, but she had to focus, now wasn't the time to get lost in her own head. "Okay, my place after school.. I.. I'm trusting you, okay Orion?" Those words dug into him deeper than he'd expected. "Thank you, Ginger, you have no idea just how much that means to me"

And she didn't. She didn't know, but she would soon find out just exactly what trust meant to Orion. ...


End file.
